Locating objects in an environment using electronic means such as light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensors can be a complex task. For example, a LIDAR sensor may not obtain data about an object that is beyond a range of the LIDAR sensor. Thus, recognizing an oncoming vehicle may not occur when using a LIDAR sensor until the vehicle is within the range of the LIDAR sensor to a scanning vehicle. Consequently, a computing system of the scanning vehicle may not have a complete perception of a surrounding environment.
Moreover, when the scanning vehicle is operating in an autonomous mode, the vehicle uses the LIDAR sensor to build an obstacle map of objects in the surrounding environment. In general, the vehicle uses the obstacle map to avoid objects within the surrounding environment. However, because the LIDAR sensor provides for detecting objects within the indicated range, this obstacle map may not provide an extensive perception of the surrounding environment. Thus, the vehicle may not be able to plan maneuvers as far in advance as desired because of the indicated range. As a result, the vehicle may not be able to adequately navigate the surrounding environment because of this lack of information.